convert

[ verb kuh n-vurt; noun kon-vurt ]

/ verb kənˈvɜrt; noun ˈkɒn vɜrt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR convert ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.

to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc.: to convert the heathen.

to turn to another or a particular use or purpose; divert from the original or intended use: They converted the study into a nursery for the baby.

to modify (something) so as to serve a different function: to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.

to obtain an equivalent value for in an exchange or calculation, as money or units of measurement: to convert bank notes into gold; to convert yards into meters.

Finance. to exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.

to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one: to convert a criminal.

Chemistry. to cause (a substance) to undergo a chemical change: to convert sugar into alcohol.

to invert or transpose.

Law.

to assume unlawful rights of ownership of (personal property).
to change the form of (property), as from realty to personalty or vice versa.

to appropriate wrongfully to one's own use.

Logic. to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion.

Computers. to subject to conversion.

verb (used without object)

to become converted.

Football. to make a conversion.

noun

one who has been converted, as to a religion or opinion.

Nearby words

conversion disorder, conversion ratio, conversion table, conversive heat, conversus, convert, convertase, converted, converted rice, converted steel, converter

Origin of convert

1250–1300; Middle English converten < Latin convertere to change completely, equivalent to con- con- + vertere to turn round (see verse); convert (noun) replacing converse, Middle English convers (< Anglo-French) < Latin; see converse²

SYNONYMS FOR convert

1 See transform.

2 proselytize.

16 proselyte, neophyte, disciple.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR convert ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

con·ver·tive, adjective

Definition for convert (2 of 2)

convert

[ kon-vurt ]

/ ˈkɒn vɜrt /

noun Informal.

a convertible automobile.

a convertible bond.

Origin of convert

by shortening of convertible

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for convert

There is also “other” and “willing to convert” (more on those categories later).
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This 18-hour trip was in a less nice room, but one that had two seats that convert into a bed.
Accusations Pile Up on Top D.C. Rabbi Barry Freundel|Steven I. Weiss|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Be a good citizen, and heaven awaits; fail to convert and lead a moral life, burn in hell.
Americans’ Burning Obsession With Hell|William O’Connor|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“The two most dangerous types of people are poor who become rich and those who convert to Islam,” observed one man from Snuny.
On the Ground, Collaborators With ISIS Could Be Its Big Weakness|Christine van den Toorn|August 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In the last conversation, now, several days ago, the girls said they had been told to convert to Islam or die.
Hanifa's Story: Her Five Sisters Taken by ISIS to Be Sold or Worse|Christine van den Toorn|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Smith's brother Samuel was the first convert won over, Cowdery baptizing him.
The Story of the Mormons|William Alexander Linn
Mrs. King, who was religious and zealous, had found in him a convert.
A Dozen Ways Of Love|Lily Dougall
Such a child, for example, is the little girl the Moslem is ready to adopt and convert to the faith.
Lotus Buds|Amy Carmichael
By this time she had become a convert to Christianity, but this was entirely a matter of her own seeking.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
He began with an ivory toddy-stick to convert sugar and Bourbon into sirup.
The Seven Darlings|Gouverneur Morris

British Dictionary definitions for convert

convert

verb (kənˈvɜːt) (mainly tr)

to change or adapt the form, character, or function of; transform

to cause (someone) to change in opinion, belief, etc

to change (a person or his way of life, etc) for the better

(intr) to admit of being changed (into)the table converts into a tray

(also intr) to change or be changed into another chemical compound or physical stateto convert water into ice

law

to assume unlawful proprietary rights over (personal property)
to change (property) from realty into personalty or vice versa

(also intr) rugby to make a conversion after (a try)

logic to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion

to change (a value or measurement) from one system of units to another

to exchange (a security or bond) for something of equivalent value

noun (ˈkɒnvɜːt)

a person who has been converted to another belief, religion, etc

Derived Forms

convertive, adjective

Word Origin for convert

C13: from Old French convertir, from Latin convertere to turn around, alter, transform, from vertere to turn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012